Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 15:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 15:16
"Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased."

I pondered on being purchased and bought with a price.

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."
(1 Corinthians 6:20)

"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men."
(1 Corinthians 7:23)

The Lord redeemed Israel by delivering them from Egypt. They were bought with a price. As are all of us, for the Lord has truly redeemed us from the fall. We will be released from the bondage of death. We can never pay Him back, the price it to great. It was bought with His precious blood. What is asked is to honor the gift by honoring and obeying Him, repenting and keeping his commandments.

Day 3767

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 100:11

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 100:11
"And I will give unto thee power to be mighty in expounding all scriptures, that thou mayest be a spokesman unto him, and he shall be a revelator unto thee, that thou mayest know the certainty of all things pertaining to the things of my kingdom on the earth."

The power to expound all scriptures made me think of Bruce R. McConkie and his role in helping to develop the 1979/1981 edition of the Latter-day Saint Bible, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. With his inspired understanding of the scriptures he was able to write all the chapter headings. How I depend on them. This made me find the BYUtv show "That Promised Day: The Coming Forth of the LDS Scriptures". The Lord truly put in place the right people able to make the scriptures "one in thine hand".

"Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: the take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephram, and for all the house of Israel his companions.
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand"
(Ezekiel 37:16-17)

Then Elder Thomas S. Monson was a printer and understood page layout, format, styles and type. Elder Bruce R. McConkie was an expert on the doctrine. He oversaw the footnotes, chapter headings, JST, and dictionary. Elder Boyd K. Packer oversaw that it be affordable and able to be handled, he also oversaw the topical guide and concordance. The talents and gifts of these apostles and all the others involved in this undertaking were absolutely given power to be mighty in expounding all scriptures. I cannot image how much I would be lacking if I did not have ability to cross reference these scriptures to learn and study from them.

"Never since the day of Joseph Smith...has there been such an opportunity to increase gospel scholarship as has now come to those who have our new English editions of the scriptures"
(Elder Bruce R. McConkie)

"However talented men may be in administrative matters [or] worldly things - they will be denied the sweet whisperings of the spirit that might have been theirs unless they pay the price of studying, pondering, and praying about the scriptures."
(Elder Bruce R. McConkie)

Day 3689

Today's Favorite Verse: Romans 6:23

Today's Favorite Verse: Romans 6:23

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Do I want wages or a gift? Wages you have to work for it, a gift I do not. Then I thought of wages as having a price. If these wages buy me death, or spiritual death, they must come pretty cheaply, because there isn't much value there. It comes from a poor paymaster. It's something everyone could earn. It's like cheap trinkets, or maybe brass tinkling bells?

Then I thought of the gift, which is something given to me. The value of this gift is not in the labor required but in the giver. The gift of the Savior's atonement is of inestimable worth, and lasts for the eternities. It was given to me, if I decide to receive it and not throw it away on cheap trinkets. It's interesting that we can slave our lives away on things that hold no value. Then the thing of value we can throw it way. "For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money." (Isaiah 52:3) "Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price." (2 Nephi 9:50 & Isaiah 55:1) "Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price." (2 Nephi 26:25)

Day 3211

Today's Favorite Verse: Judges 4:1-2, 9

Today's Favorite Verse: Judges 4:1-2, 9

"And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh."

The words sold and to sell by the Lord did not fit. I know the Lord did not sell us, but he bought us with his blood. I turned to the footnote.

"Yea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off forever? For thus saith the Lord: Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away."

(2 Nephi 7:1, and Isaiah 50:1)

The only selling is ourselves. For turning away from the Lord we sell ourselves, and that is when we pay a price.

Day 2374

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 5:14-15

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 5:14-15
"Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it."

I pondered on how loving the Lord God is. How merciful he is to his children. Then why must he punish them? Then I thought about my parents having to punish me as a child. What I learned from it. I though of myself having to punish my children. Even when I didn't want to see them loose privileges and suffer loss. Sometimes one children's disobedience caused the whole family to suffer. Yet, it was for their good. It was also for the good of the other children. So they would learn by example the price of disobedience. It's hard to be a good parent and raise children in righteousness. It would take a God to handle this on such a massive scale.

Day 1382

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 30:12-13, 16

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 30:12-13, 16

"When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord.

And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls."

As I was reading this I thought of how the Lord has bought me with a price, he has ransomed me. I am numbered among His sheep.

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:20)

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and brake it, and blessed it, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is in remembrance of my body which I give a ransom for you." (JST, Matthew 26:22 - compare Matthew 26:26-28)

Day 655